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So, I saw this thread the other day, and in it I decided to share a bit about how I was introduced to Linux:

I was introduced to Linux a while back by my uncle, who does a lot with Linux. He started me out using systemrescuecd on an old computer, so that I could get used to the command line (If only he'd told me about the startx command then...), and not have to worry too much about messing anything up. Since then, I've gotten a bit older, and now have a much better understanding of the Linux OS. Linux has always been amazing to me

To add to that, I originally found the CLI quite difficult, and didn't quite understand how and why someone would want to spend time typing commands into a computer when they could just be using Windows, which I was much more familiar with, and never have to worry about writing a single command.

As I used Linux more though, I started to get used to the CLI. Once I was comfortable with it, I decided to install Ubuntu on my computer. For a while, I was fine with Ubuntu; it wasn't too difficult, I didn't have to use the terminal any more, and overall, I seemed pretty happy with it.

Eventually though, I began to get bored with Ubuntu. I was going to try and make an LFS system! Of course, I didn't know as much as I should have known before taking on that project, and it ended up being a bit of a waste of time. I tried once, and failed. I tried again, and failed again. I tried a third time, and finally decided that I was unable to build my own Linux system. So, I went back to Ubuntu alongside of Windows for a while.

I then decided that I was going to try and do a bit of penetration testing, because what teenager doesn't want to try and hack into their own computer? So I installed Kali and [Insert here the name of the intentionally vulnerable Linux distro whose name I can't remember right now] in virtual machines on my computer, and began to mess around with that. I never became that good at pentesting either though... As a result, I just went back to Windows, and playing Minecraft.

One of my friends then had the idea of me hosting a Minecraft server! And I figured, "Why not? I have an oldish desktop that we don't use any more because it kept getting BSODs, why not install Linux on there and host a Minecraft server?" And that's exactly what I did. I got Ubuntu on there, and started working out how to get a Minecraft server running on it. I decided that I enjoyed working with servers, and that it was finally something I could actually do! From the Minecraft server, I then went on to try and host other servers; it started with Apache and MySQL to work with plugins that I ran on my Minecraft server. I continued to enjoy the idea of server management, but I didn't like that there were so many extra things on the computer that weren't necessary for my servers to run, and that those things were probably taking a lot of the little RAM my server had.

It was then that I started looking into different Linux distros which were lightweight, and good for servers. I found all of the usual lightweight distros, but none of them really appealed to me, despite the fact that I was only going to use it to host a few servers. I came across LFS again, but didn't really want to try and tackle that project again quite yet. But then, I found Arch. I realized that it, like LFS, could be a bit hard to set up, but that it wouldn't be quite so hard. I gave it a try, and wasn't successful at first. But by the second attempt, I had a running Arch Linux system! This is what I still use today for my server, and I really enjoy it. It can be a bit of a pain to work with at times, but I feel like it's worth it.

Anyway, I'm kinda curious to hear other people's stories about how they were introduced to Linux, and how they went on from there!

I applaud your Arch usage. Its a farily daunting task for a someone newer to Linux. I honestly haven't tried it yet myself. Just haven't found the time to fool with it, plus I like my Ubuntu.

I started my Linux journey some 9 1/2 years ago or so with Ubuntu 7.04. And for proof, I even still have the CD from them! You could get them for free then, I had horrible internet.

I'm not sure when exactly I started using Linux more often, probably wasn't until college. I played with it on and off from around the 06/07 time frame (I did a lot of gaming in my teens, so I was mostly in Windows). Did the whole dual booting, and what not. Can't remember what else I might have done with it, but I did get familiar with it and knew my way around decently enough.

It wasn't until I went to college that I ended up using it more frequently. I remember doing my entire C++ coding for that course (C++ course) on codeblocks in Linux. That was pretty fun.... was up until 3:30 AM the day the project was due making sure I had the code where I liked it... but I digress.

When I went to Drexel for my Computing Security degree I really started using Linux. Most my classes that had any type of tool, we used Linux. My senior project was built around a bash shell script. Plus by then I had a server running at my house with samba, mumble, and SSH. I also started using Backtrack (before Kali came out - I think it was a couple years pre Drexel that I used Backtrack) then got into Kali (also used it for a 'ethical hacking' course - that was fun) when it came out.

After I graduated I got a job as a Software Engineer. I didn't do coding though, I helped make sure that when tests when on the OS ran okay, which was a variant of RedHat. I was in the CLI everyday doing my job (which was super fun). Wrote probably 5 to 10 different scripts in languages ranging from bash, python, ruby, some perl. Also co authored an entire Java GUI that launched all these different tools people made for the environment. Was a cool job.

Now I'm a security Engineer, and wile I don't get to use Linux on a day to day basis, I have gotten to use kali once or twice so far to run tests against our network. So my Linux journey has been fun. Hopefully will continue to be fun!

Thanks for starting the topic sasschary! Was fun recounting my 10ish years so far in Linux!

I've only been at this aspect of the great 'game' for a little over two years.

I started off back at the tail end of the 70's/very early 80's, at the dawn of the home computer revolution, with a well-used Commodore PET. The first machine I ever used for any length of time was the amazing Commodore 64. The old man bought it for me and my brother Xmas '82, but my bro had just discovered gurls (!!) and couldn't be bothered with it; no interest at all!

(The house constantly reeked of Brut 33, as he tarted himself up for his latest conquest..... )

So I got to have exclusive use of it. Wrote my first ever program in Commodore BASIC; a 'Hangman' program, with a database of all of about 40 words. Used some of the very early fantasy/adventure games (loaded from the trusty old Datasette); gawd, they took for ever to load! Also experimented with the synthesiser that was available for the C-64 on cartridge.....wrote a few tunes with that, too.

I've used so many different pieces of hardware I've lost track, although one of the more memorable (for all the wrong reasons!), was a spell with a Tandy TRS-80. They didn't call it the 'Trash-80' for nothing; it ate my files on several occasions. Disappeared into thin air, they did.....

DOS came and went. Likewise the first ever Windows, 1.0. 3.0, 3.1, '95, '98, 2000, XP.....and that was the end of my M$ 'journey'. I stayed with it till EOL, April 2 years ago.

By that time I'd had enough. I wanted a change. So I Googled 'Free operating systems', more out of curiosity than anything else. My goodness, the hits I found. Page after page of them...

I started off with it, like many people do. Quite a learning curve, despite the user-friendliness compared to years ago. Everything was fine & dandy for a few months.....till Canonical's constant, never-ending stream of 'updates' began, slowly, to break my system, little by little, due to their policy of slowly dropping support for older hardware. Talk about losing sight of the biggest Linux 'ethos', that of keeping old hardware alive and functional. But no, Mark Shuttleworth, it appears, has decided he wants to be the Bill Gates of the Linux universe.....

Which is how I came to try out my 'daily driver', Puppy. I felt Ubuntu was getting too heavy, and too complex. I wanted something simple, and lightweight.....especially for my ancient Dell Inspiron laptop, circa 2002/3. First couple of 'Pups' I tried, the god-awful Intel graphics adapter Dell had decided, in their wisdom, to saddle the Inspiron with, kept squashing Puppy up into the top left-hand corner of the screen. Slacko 570, and Precise 571 would load, and run.....but I couldn't see anything.

I was on the point of giving up with Puppy, when an acquaintance on the Ubuntu Forums suggested I give the newly-released 'Tahrpup' a go. I thought, 'What have I got to lose? Can't hurt to try...' So I d/l'ed, burnt to CD, and booted up again. What a shock! Absolutely everything worked, OOTB. I was astounded.....and very pleased.

I've since discovered that the only thing you need to do to get the Inspiron's graphics to work with any 'Pup', is to add

i915.modeset=0

...to Puppy's kernel line. That's all it takes. That, and upgrading the BIOS, so you can allocate the full 8MB (!) of 'shared', system RAM to the video chip. I'm having so much fun, I now run 14 of the little darlings.....

It's the best thing since sliced bread, in my opinion. So simple, and ultra lightweight.....and runs like greased lightning, too, due to running entirely in RAM. Works for me!

Back around 2002, I was a user of a site called Completely Free Software, run by a fellow named Graham Pockett out of Orange in New South Wales, Australia. Still is. He ran the site for a number of years providing freeware and shareware for Windows and would package CDs with same to sell for a small cost. I was a subscriber to his site and his weekly newsletter.

I had 12 years of Windows experience behind me, and some testing experience and knowledge of batch file implementation, a certificate in Advanced Windows, and rolling out Windows to a workplace of 140 staff. Graham approached me to help him test setting up a paid Members section to his site, which provided more benefits to those just using the free section, and so I helped him. In return, he provided me with three (3) CDs containing Mandrake Linux.

RPM (Redhat Package Management)-based Distros such as Redhat, SUSE (now openSUSE) and Mandrake (which went on to combine with Connectiva to become Mandriva, then led to Mageia and OpenMandriva) ... were at the forefront of Linux, then, ahead of Debian-based distros.

I tried Mandrake out, a little, but was still so wrapped in Windows that I did not take it further, shortsighted, in hindsight.

It took until late 2011 before I took up the Linux gauntlet again. Ubuntu's 11.10 'Oneiric Ocelot' was on the streets, and I found on the newsstands a wonderful magazine, British, called LXF - Linux Format magazine, which featured a copy of 11.10, but as a re-mix, without the Unity desktop that was causing controversy at the time. Instead, a GNOME DE was in place.

The good thing I found about this install, was its WUBI feature, whereby you could literally install it as a folder under Windows, and have it boot up with a menu choice, headed by Windows, and followed by Ubuntu. If you didn't like Linux, just blow away the folder named Ubuntu, and you were back to a Windows-only environment.

WUBI continued, unknown to many, to be an option with Ubuntu until 15.10 'Wily Werewolf', then being made redundant.

In August 2014, I blew away Windows 7 on my main computer, and progressively went to a totally Linux household.

Nowadays I run 37 Linux Distros and am always looking to seeing what is new to try! I keep an open mind, and embrace all the "Families" - Debian, RPM, Gentoo, Arch, and most recently, a Puppy called LxPupTahr 15.12.

For a while I like Ubuntu because it was simple and not very hard to work with. Like I said in the original post though, I eventually started to feel that it was too much, especially for servers, and I also didn't particularly like the Unity DE. Hence me eventually turning to Arch, where I could not only choose most of what went on it, I could also choose my DE and not have to worry about Unity.

(Anybody want to tell me why every blog and tech-site on the 'web seems to do stuff for Ubuntu, and nothing else??)

There definitely are things about distros other than Ubuntu-based distributions. However, I would think that a lot of things are directed at Ubuntu distros because it is pretty popular, especially among those who are newer to Linux. Regardless of how much I dislike Unity, it's an environment that isn't super difficult to get used to, and it's similar to the Windows 7 taskbar, though it is docked on the left rather than the bottom.

In August 2014, I blew away Windows 7 on my main computer, and progressively went to a totally Linux household.

I haven't quite gotten that far yet... I still run a few things that don't run super well under Wine, and so I currently dual boot Windows 10 and Arch. If someone has a way to completely block Spotify ads under Linux I wouldn't be opposed to learning how, it'd probably help in me going completely Linux

I am an energetic and enthusiastic person who enjoys a challenge and achieving personal goals. My present career aim is to work within IT because I enjoy working with computers, I enjoy the environment and I find the work interesting and satisfying. The opportunity to learn new skills and work with new technologies is particularly attractive to me.

Yeah, I realize that. Many users who are newer to Linux, though, may not think to change that. I personally think that the launcher being on the side is better though. Most monitors and laptop screens nowadays are widescreen, so having a side launcher is, in my opinion anyway, a more efficient use of screen space, since there is an abundance of space width-wise.